Te Amo
by SnoWhyte
Summary: He was an orphan thief living on his own. She was a tomboy who loved fighting. Their paths somehow crossed, and he soon fell in love. But would she return his feelings?
1. The First Encounter

The teenager ran from the guards as fast as he possibly could, catching his breath. He noticed an alleyway in front of him and immediately darted towards it. He found a barrel and hid inside. The guards searched the alley, but did not check the barrels, for whatever reason. Once they left, the raven haired teen jumped out of the barrel and walked out of the alley. He noticed that his hair was now undone; the blue ribbon holding his hair in a ponytail had slipped off while he was being pursued. The adolescent opened up his satchel, grabbing the apple he had stolen and eating it. After a few minutes of eating, he threw the apple away and continued to walk. Suddenly, his blue eyes saw a guard running to him. The teenager panicked and sprinted off, trying to find a hiding spot. The brunet spotted a church and darted inside. The friar of the church looked at the boy, puzzled.

"You look like you've been running for quite a while, my child. The question is, what is it you were running from?" The friar inquired. The teen spoke, panting.

"Guards... apple... stolen... chased..." He said through breaths.

"So let me get this straight; you stole an apple, the guards caught you, and they chased you?" The black haired adolescent nodded, sweating.

"My child, you must repent for stealing. You know that it is a sin to steal," said the friar. The teenager rolled his eyes.

"I am serious, boy. Repent for your sins."

The boy sighed and started "speaking" to God. "Dear Heavenly Father, I am sorry for the sins I have committed. I ask for your forgiveness. Amen," he concluded. The friar simply shook his head.

"I hope that God forgives you, boy. Let us hope that somehow, the guards will forgive you, too."

"Yeah, right. They'll just arrest me."

"Well, what you did was wrong. Even if it was just a measly apple that you stole, you still committed a crime, and the laws must be upheld."

"I guess so," the boy stated. "Maybe I deserve to be arrested, friar. I've done a lot of terrible things in my life. I need to be punished for those things. You know... I think I'll turn myself in." The teenager left the church and walked up to one of the guards.

"Arrest me," he said. The guard nodded and tied up the kid's hands together, putting him on his horse. He rode off to the prison, throwing the adolescent into a cell. Just moments later, the guard returned and threw a girl the boy's age into the cell. Her hair was brown, and her eyes were emerald green in color. She wore a tattered, dirty green dress. Her hands were also tied up. The boy attempted to talk to the girl.

"So, what did you do?" he asked. The girl sighed.

"I stabbed a man in a bar," she said.

"Really? Well, all I did was steal a piece of fruit," the boy replied.

"Why didn't you just pay the guards?" the girl inquired.

"I don't have any money on me. I'm dirt poor."

"Ah, I see. That explains it. You know, my brother was a thief once, too. But he was too good-hearted, so whenever he got caught, he would always pay the guards the fees. Now he's given up stealing. He pays the mandolin for money, instead. He's quite good at it, but he doesn't make much. By the way, my name is Rosa Cervantes. Who are you?"

"I'm Tulio Cordero. It's nice to meet you, Miss Cervantes." Rosa giggled.

"Please just refer to me as Rosa, Tulio." Tulio nodded.

"Tulio... I've heard the name before. Wait a minute, are you that boy who was on the wanted posters?"

"Yep, that's me."

"My God! You _are_ him! They wanted you dead! Do you think they'll go through with that?" Rosa asked.

"Probably," Tulio responded.

"Well, I don't want you to die. You were nice to me. Tell you what, we're gonna escape."

"How the hell do we do that?"

"I've got a plan." Rosa whispered her plan to Tulio, and he smirked. That night, a guard passed their cell. Rosa snatched the keys he had on him and unlocked the cell door. The two teenagers ran fast, dashing to the exit. A horde of guards followed them. Rosa knocked a guard off of his horse and jumped on.

"Get on, Tulio!" Rosa said. Tulio got on the back of the black horse.

"Uh, do you know how to ride horses, Rosa?" he asked.

"Um... no. But we have to get out of here quickly!"

Rosa rode off, escaping the prison. The horse went into the city. It stopped at the house of Rosa's parents. Rosa and Tulio got off the horse.

"Come inside, Tulio. It's safe, here."

"You sure?"

Rosa nodded. Tulio sighed and walked in, with Rosa following him inside. Rosa hugged her mother tightly.

"Rosa, who is this boy?" Her mother asked.

"His name is Tulio, _madre_. He helped me," Rosa replied.

"Hello, ma'am," Tulio said.

"Hello, Tulio. You look very tired. Why don't you stay here for the night? I'll let your parents know."

"Well, thing is, my parents are dead. I live on my own..."

"That's such a shame. You poor little thing. Where do you stay, now?"

"Anywhere I want. But it's nice of you to let me sleep here for the night, miss. I can't thank you enough."

"No need to thank me. You saved my daughter, so this is my way of repaying you. Now get some rest. It's very late." Tulio nodded and slept for the night.

Tulio woke up the next morning with a headache. He grabbed his head, groaning from the pain.

"Got a headache, Tulio?" Rosa asked. Tulio nodded.

"As if it weren't obvious enough..."

After Tulio's headache went away, he and Rosa went to play ball together. While they were playing, Rosa started to talk to Tulio.

"So tell me about yourself, Tulio."

"Well, I'm an orphan from the countryside. My _padre_ was a devout Catholic, and my _madre_ was a _converso_ ; they forced her to give up Judaism, and she became a Catholic. They say that if your mother is Jewish, then you are. I'm not so sure, since she converted, but I supposed ethnically I'm a Jew. Anyway, my parents died when I was 12. I've been on my own ever since. I left the country not long after my parents died and came here. I've stayed ever since. That's my story."

"That's sad. They left you at such a young age..." Tulio nodded. Suddenly, a blond haired boy appeared. He looked similar to Rosa, but was slightly younger than her and Tulio; he was 14, at most.

"Is that your brother that you were talking about yesterday?" Tulio asked. Rosa nodded.

"Rosa, my mandolin broke," the blond boy said.

"There's nothing I can do about it, Miguel. ask _padre_ if he can fix it for you," Rosa replied. Miguel sighed and walked off.

"That was my little brother, Miguel. He's a sweet kid."

"I'm sure he is."

Tulio left the Cervantes household that day, as he was only staying for one night. He slept in the alley. As he slept, he dreamed about Rosa. He thought that she was so beautiful. Even though they barely knew each other, Tulio was beginning to fall in love with Rosa. But could he ever win her heart?


	2. Dante Garcia

Tulio woke up late next morning. He realized that he had still lost his ribbon. He decided to walk to Rosa's house and see if she could give him a new one.

"Sure, Tulio," she said. She got out a purple ribbon and handed it to Tulio. He smiled and thanked Rosa, tying his hair into a ponytail with the ribbon.

"So, what are we doing today?" he asked. Rosa shrugged.

"Not sure. What do _you_ want to do?"

"Well... I always wanted to try playing dice. I saw some men playing a game of dice in the plaza. Maybe we could go there and play, too. I hear you can make good money playing."

"Well, okay. But just so you know, I have to bring Miguel with us."

"Why?"

"Because my parents want me to watch him, that's why."

Tulio sighed. "Fine. Bring him here." Rosa called for her little brother. Miguel walked downstairs.

"What is it, Rosa?"

"We're going to the plaza."

"Why are we going there? And why do I have to come?"

"Because I have to watch you, and me and Tulio are gonna play dice. Now hurry up!" Miguel sighed and nodded. Rosa smirked and ruffled her younger brother's hair, much to his exasperation. The trio walked to the plaza together. It was bustling with people and quite busy. The plaza was absolutely crowded. In the distance, two men were playing a game of dice together. Tulio and Rosa approached them.

"Uh, h-hi. We were wondering if one of you could show us how to play dice," Tulio said.

"Sure, kid, but it'll cost ya," one of the men replied.

"How much?"

"Oh, let's say... a hundred pesetas."

"A hundred pesetas?! Are you out of your mind? We don't even have five pesetas!" Rosa exclaimed.

"Ya might as well leave then, kid. No money, no lessons... unless..."

"Unless what?" Tulio asked.

"Unless you do a job for us."

Rosa sighed. "It better be a _quick_ job. What do we gotta do?"

"This one guy, Dante Garcia, he owes us money. You gotta find a way to make him talk, or else we kill 'im. Got it?"

"Ugh, fine. But only because we want lessons. Come on, Miguel, let's go." So the three of them went to search for Dante. They asked an elderly man if he knew where Dante was.

"Ah, Garcia? He hangs around the local tavern, usually in the back."

"Thanks, mister," Miguel said. The trio went to the tavern. Rosa asked the bartender where Dante was.

"Dante is over there, to the right," he pointed to a man with brown eyes, tan skin, a full beard, and shoulder length greasy black hair. They walked over to him.

"Are you Dante Garcia?" Rosa asked.

"Yeah, that's me. What do you want, kid? It better be important."

"We want you to talk. You owe money to someone," Tulio said.

"Oh, no. Don't tell me. The Fernandez brothers again? Why are a bunch of little kids like you guys working for them?"

"Because they're gonna teach us how to play dice."

"Whatever they say is a dirty lie, sport. They ain't gonna teach ya a thing. They'll rob ya blind, just like they robbed me. I don't play dice, myself, but I know someone who does. Look, if you kiddies help me get my money back, I'll take you to the guy who can teach you."

"You have yourself a deal," Rosa said. Dante smirked, and they all went back to the Fernandez brothers.

"Diego! Jose! Give me my money back!" Dante yelled, a knife in his hand. The Fernandez brothers simply laughed.

"I SAID GIVE ME MY MONEY!" Dante shouted louder, lunging at Jose with the knife. The knife pierced Jose in the chest, making him bleed quite a lot. Diego glared at Dante, punching him in the face.

"You there, kid! Get the guards!" Dante said to Miguel. Miguel nodded and ran to one of the guards.

"What is it, boy?" The guard asked.

"There's a fight going on in the plaza. A man had his money stolen." The guard sighed and let Miguel lead the way. He arrested the Fernandez brothers and handed Dante's money back to him.

"You little brats! You'll pay for this," Jose screamed out.

"Ah, shut up, you crook," the guard replied as he led the brothers away.

"Thank you so much, all of you. Now, as I promised, I'm gonna take you to the guy I know." Dante led the teens to Rosa and Miguel's parents' house. They looked confused.

"This is our house," Miguel said.

"Oh, really? Hmmm..." Dante knocked on the door. Rosa and Miguel's father opened the door.

"Alejandro, some kids want to learn how to play dice," Dante said. Alejandro looked at two of the three teenagers.

"Dante, these are _my_ children."

"Oh... wasn't aware."

"I didn't know you were a gambler, papa," Miguel said. Alejandro sighed.

"I didn't want you two or your _madre_ to find out, Miguel. Now only she doesn't know... let's keep it that way."

"So are you gonna teach us or what?" Tulio asked.

Alejandro nodded. He taught Tulio, Miguel and Rosa everything he knew about dice. Days passed, and soon the three kids were experienced with playing.

"Thank you for teaching us, papa," Rosa said.

"You're welcome, _cariño_. Just don't get into any trouble, honey," Alejandro replied. He kissed his daughter's forehead. Rosa, Tulio and Miguel went out to play dice with each other.

"I like playing dice," Tulio said. "You know, Miguel, me and you could make a living off of this..."


	3. First Kiss

Tulio and Miguel decided to play dice together and earn money that way, becoming partners. They formed an unlikely bond and became best friends. At the same time, Tulio's feelings for Rosa were growing even more as the months passed. He was in love with her, but didn't know if she felt the same way. Tulio knew he had to win Rosa over. He talked to Miguel for advice.

"I guess just impress her," Miguel said.

"How do I do that?" asked Tulio.

"I dunno, get into a fight and win?" Miguel suggested.

"Fight? That sounds kinda risky, Miguel. You sure about that?"

"Well, it's worth a try."

Tulio sighed. "Fine. This better work, Miguel. Who do I start a fight with?"

"Ummm... not sure. Just pick a fight with some random bully."

Tulio nodded and headed off into the streets. He saw a bully harassing a younger kid and walked up to him.

"Uh... y-you stop picking on that kid!" Tulio told the bully. The bully scoffed.

"Or else what? You'll tell your mommy?"

"Or else I'll have to fight you!"

The bully laughed out loud. "Alright, twerp! Let's go, then." The bully punched Tulio in the face, knocking him to the ground. Tulio spat out blood. A crowd soon gathered, Rosa among them.

"Tulio?" Rosa looked surprised. "He's fighting that kid?"

Tulio got back up and tackled the bully, pulling at the other kid's hair. The kid screamed out of pain and started to twist Tulio's arm. Tulio groaned and tried to break free from the grasp.

"You're such a wuss," The kid said, smirking. Finally, Tulio freed his arm. He got up and punched the bully as hard as he could in the nose. The bully cried out; Tulio had broken his nose. The kid covered up his nose.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," Tulio started to say. But the other kid cut him off.

"Screw off! I'll leave the kid alone, okay? Just stop hurting me!" The bully ran away. Some of the crowd cheered for Tulio. Tulio went up to the bullied child.

"Hey, kid, are you okay?" The child nodded, sniffling.

"He won't give you any more trouble, kid. I promise." Suddenly, Tulio saw Rosa and stiffened. Rosa walked up to him.

"Tulio, why did you get into a fight? You could've been hurt!"

"I... I just wanted to impress you."

"Why would you want to impress me?"

"Because I lo... I mean, you're my friend, that's why."

"You were going to say 'I love you'."

Tulio blushed. "No, not at all! Y-you misheard!"

"I'm not stupid, Tulio."

Tulio sighed. "Okay, okay! I love you, Rosa! But I know that you don't love me! There, I said it."

"Actually... I do love you, Tulio. You're cute, smart, funny, clever..." She blushed, stopping herself. Tulio blushed as well.

"Y-you really mean those things?" Tulio asked. Rosa nodded.

"Well, uh... thanks. nobody ever called me cute before. Or funny." Rosa giggled and kissed Tulio on the lips. His whole face turned red. Rosa broke the kiss, concerned about Tulio.

"Um, Tuli? Are you doing alright?" Tulio nodded, though he was clearly sweating.

"D-do you want do go on a d-date sometime?" Tulio stuttered. Rosa again giggled.

"I'd love to. See you then, cutie." Rosa walked off.

"She called me cutie..." Tulio said to himself. He walked to the alley, flustered. Butterflies were in his stomach; he was nervous about the date. He tried his best to sleep it off.


End file.
